Warm Weather And Lady Bugs

Luke Williams writes,

The weather was the warmest I’ve ever seen for this time of year and never seen insects like ladybugs out this time of year. Also, the snow cover on the mountaintop was the lowest I’ve ever seen. It was 52 degrees outside when the ladybug was seen. It was -2 and then went up to 52 within a few days. Very little snow on Ripinski Mountain, bad snowpack year.

UAF Cooperative Extension Service Forest Health Technician Jessie Moan writes:

"Yes, it is a type of lady beetle. Lady beetles usually overwinter as adults and will start to become active as temperatures increase"

LEO says:

According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks publication Beneficial Insects and Spiders of Alaska (see pages 22-24), Lady Beetle (family Coccinellidae) species are very diverse, with twenty three identified species in Alaska alone. Commonly found in on grasses, bushes, and on garden plants during warm months, adult Lady Beetled over-winter under leaf litter and other debris. Pictured below is a chart documenting temperature fluctuation in Haines during the month of January. The temperature rapidly rose between January 11th and January 15th, perhaps enticing the beetle out of its winter cover.

This observation has been shared with the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension.

Resources:

Lost Ladybug Project – "Across North America ladybug species composition is changing. Over the past twenty years, native ladybugs that were once very common have become extremely rare. During this same time ladybugs from other parts of the world have greatly increased both their numbers and range."